TEENConnect
It was a day of praise worships, prayers, speeches, admonitions and awards as Jextoban Secondary School, Ketu, in Lagos State sends forth the graduating students of 2018 unto ‘greater heights’.
The event which held in two phases: valedictory service and the graduation proper lived up to its theme; ‘Greater Heights’. Every activity lined up for the day was a recap of all what the students have been taught for the six years they spent in the school which is anchored on Godly values. The students were repeatedly reminded of what values to take along in their journey into life by the different speakers that mounted the podium.
The officiating Minister, Pastor Andrew Umoru commenced the programme with Bible reading from Proverbs 3:1-13 which he capped up with prayers and outpouring of blessings on the outgoing students.
The school choir was on hand to punctuate the event with impeccable renditions of spirit-lifting praise and worship songs that transported all present to heavenly realms.
For Jextoban, the graduation ceremony was a two-in-one event; the 20th edition for their Lagos Campus and the maiden edition for their Ogun State Campus. The Chairman, Board of Governors of the school, Pastor E. A. Ojo, was to tell the cheering crowd a third reason why the event was a very special one for the school as according to him, the school had just been certified by British Council to present candidates for Cambridge examinations.
“It was reported in my speech last year that our Ibafo School had been approved to present candidates for the SSCE by all the relevant authorities – The Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, WAEC and NECO, hence, our graduating the first set of students from the Ibafo Campus.
“In addition, the British Council after a rigorous and comprehensive inspection exercise has approved that we can now present candidates for the: Secondary Check Point (Cambridge) JSS3, Cambridge IGCSE and, Cambridge A-Level Examinations,” he said.
The obviously excited Chairman expressed his appreciation to the academic and non–academic staff of the school, attributing the successes being celebrated by the school to their ‘collective and collaborative efforts’. He went on to specially thank the proprietress of the school, Mrs. A. A. Ojo, whose singular and untiring efforts according to him, had taken the school to the enviable height it now proudly occupies. He extolled her indefatigable contributions to the development of the Ibafo Campus which ‘at the risk of her health and safety, she is always on ground to supervise the construction work.’
The high point of the ceremony was the ‘parental blessings on the graduating students’. At this point, the students were asked to locate their parents who prayed and poured special blessings on their children, blessings that would follow them through their journeys in life.
The two Principals of the school, Mr. E. A. Adegoke of Lagos Campus and Mr. Aigbefoh Victor Ozemoya of Ibafo Campus, anchored their admonitions on ‘Character’. Both adopted different approaches and cited different examples, but the messages pointed to the values of good character which the school had inculcated in the outgoing students which they must not drop in their journey through life.
Mr. Adegoke, who titled his address ‘Character Counts’, took time off his long sermon on character to regale the excited gathering of parents, guardians and well-wishers with the achievements of the school and the students,
“Our success stories are unlimited but it may interest you to know few of them: In the current and just released WAEC results, the number of subjects with 100% credit is 11 while 80% credit passed is 17 subjects out of 24 subjects we are offering, many of the students had nine distinctions.”
“Confucious Institute has classified our school as the most-friendly school in Nigeria as a result of being the pioneer representative of Nigeria in the global Chinese competition. Over 17 alumni of this school have bagged first class in various institutions of learning both in Nigeria and abroad,” the proud Principal reeled out.
The Chairman, Pastor Ojo, earlier in his remark, had called on the various examination bodies to tighten their security mechanism so as to completely eliminate examination malpractices which have become an albatross to academic excellence amongst Nigerian students. According to him, the integrity of these examinations should not be compromised while the future of the present generation of candidates should not be destroyed. “Hard work and diligence for which we are noted in this institution should be encouraged so that the future of our country will not be jeopardised ,” he concluded.
Delivering his speech, the Special Guest of Honour, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, who is the Chairman, Editorial Board of THISDAY Newspapers, towed the line of ‘character lessons’. He admonished the graduating students to imbibe and exhibit Godly values at all times and in all circumstances. He charged them to be good ambassadors of the school and to remain steadfast in the values the school had taught them all these years.
The Valedictorian, Miss Akhigbe Sharon, was full of appreciation for the school she proudly referred to as ‘a world-class institution of learning that had discovered the secret of academic success and moulding of excellent character’.
“On behalf of my fellow graduating students, I will like to express our sincere appreciation to Jextoban Secondary School for the boundless and unconditional love we received from our first day in school to the very last. For grooming us from our raw state to becoming priceless jewels, and also for inculcating in us Christian virtues and values, right now, opportunities of life are attracted to us because we have an edge over our counterparts elsewhere,” she enthused.
The seamless flow of activities came to a beautiful close with the vote of thanks by the Head Boy of the school, Afe Adebobola who doled out appreciations on the school authority, staff and his fellow students. He was full of encomiums for the parents and had a word of advice for his seniors, the graduating students,
“I will like to also appreciate our esteemed parents here present particularly those of graduating students, may your labour over us not be in vain. To the graduating students, may this day mark the beginning of more successes for you in life,” he concluded.
Judging by the comportment of the students of Jextoban Secondary School, Ketu, there is no doubt that they have indeed been groomed for greater heights!
